The Revenge of Mama Ocha
by sarahpea
Summary: When Mama Ocha's compound is destroyed by planetary spires, the remaining members of her crime ring are left with no credits, no ship, and no way to avenge her. With their powers combined, they must discover the perpetrator and assume their rightful place in the galaxy. Novelization of a Star Wars Saga Edition RPG campaign. So based on true events, mostly.
1. Chapter 1

Sredniy shuffled himself along between the tarps and packing crates. An observant bystander would have seen the Ewok as a box walking along by itself; fortunately, he was sneaky, and no one was the wiser. He nestled himself between a large cylindrical tank and an antiquated wooden box, peering through slats of his stuffy enclosure. He stared out over the bustling shipping pool, beady eyes glittering as he drank in the scene. He clutched in his tiny paw a small holoprojector, which he played absentmindedly, squashing the tiny image against his furry chest so no one would see its telltale shimmer from his hideout in the shadows.

" _Upon delivery, return immediately to the factory to receive new instructions. Mama Ocha has a new initiative and we will need all hands._ "

The Bothan lady had kept him company on the long voyage over from Endor, her sharp, no-nonsense voice utterly imprinted in his memory. "Mama Ocha." Mama, he knew, had something to do with family in basic. He felt sure he was on the right track.

The shipping pool bubbled with random pockets of activity. There were a number of Duros, mostly decked out in flightsuits, a Talz, a few Jawas. Sredniy's heart patterned, seeing them. He knew Jawas meant machines and he longed to make himself known to the small folk, but he felt the metal of the holoprojector in his claw and remembered his true mission. There would be time for Jawas later.

There were a few unique specimens in the yard as well, some Sredniy had never seen. From his vantage point he could see exactly one Wookie talking animatedly with a Duros. A Bothan, like the one in his projector but differently colored and male strode across the compound, trailed by a human-looking thing with a tall head. He'd never seen one of those before. They were trying to look like they weren't together, it seemed. Sredniy strained, looking for any evidence of Mama Ocha, but he came up short.

" _Ai gtoocha_ ," he cursed quietly.

A clatter from the opposite side of the yard drew his gaze. A metal door rolled upward and a few other workers wandered out, two Duros and a Bothan. Sredniy's small breath caught, mental checklist ticking. Female, slight of build, dark colored vest and tight canvas pants, boots. Her coloring had been difficult to decipher on the hologram but she was dark in color, with paler eyes. This woman was jet black but from this distance he couldn't be sure about her eye color. If only he could hear her, then he would know. She stopped, tapping her finger on her datapad and greeting the Wookie and Duros from before. He needed to get closer.

Sredniy tipped the box forward and snuck out the back of it, pulling his little Ewok hood up and walking purposefully towards another pallet. Easy. He just had to look like he knew what he was doing. He was pleasantly surprised – not only was he not stopped, no one even looked at him. He stifled a laugh. Wouldn't do any good to draw attention to himself now. He hopped up on another pallet. The Bothan lady was moving again, but toward him this time. He dropped to the bottom of the loaded sled and quickly covered himself with a tarp.

"You'll be on this load. One driver and one set of muscle each. Hey, you two!" Sredniy clenched his fists, staving off the joy he felt. It was definitely her.

"You're new and this is easy so consider it a training run. You speak shyiriiwook? Good. Tarnik will run you through it. It's not too tough, just a routine delivery."

Risking just a little of his cover, Sredniy pulled back a corner of the tarp. Through a thin slot between two crates he could see the straight back of the sand-colored male Bothan from earlier and the tall-crown. It was to them the female was issuing orders. He saw them move to touch her, clasping their hands in some sort of humanoid gesture. Trust, maybe? And then they turned immediately around to face his exact hiding place.

 _Pudu_!

He recovered himself, the pallet creaking under the weight of the three larger creatures as they mounted the sled. He held his breath as they settled themselves. The Wookie's voice could be heard above the others as the Duros pilot revved the engine of the speeder attached to the sled and they swooped out the door into the sun. Sredniy didn't understand Wookie, but the tall-crown seemed to.

"Pleasure to meet you, Tarnik. I'm Jimi Djedii and this is my companion, Ros'cha Fey'lya."

The Wookie said something interrogative.

"No, no, not Jedi," the one called Jimi seemed regretful. "At least not anymore. For now, anyw—ah!"

The tall-crown made a noise like he'd had something sharp jabbed into his ribs. From his vantage point Sredniy could see it was actually a boot heel coming down on some of the tall-crown's toes. The Bothan called Ros'cha turned away from the Wookie and said something he surely thought only the one called Jimi could hear above the screech of the speeder.

"You're entirely too willing to hand out information. Literally anyone could be listening."

"Relax," said the one called Jimi. "Have I led us astray yet?"

"I'm not sure I would use the word 'led,' but you've certainly bumbled us into something."

"I resent that."

"That's fine."

The one called Jimi made a face at the Bothan and they turned back to the Wookie called Tarnik.

"So what exactly is the mission, big guy?"

The Wookie said something demonstrative.

"Right. Deliveries. You know I've never really done much in the way of routine work - manual labor, um, lifting crates. Could be fun, right?"

Sredniy could only see Ros'cha's foot from his hiding place but the Bothan's sigh of irritation was audible.

"Oh c'mon, Ros'c, you need to lighten up!"

The speeder stopped somewhere, whether it was its final destination Sredniy couldn't be sure, but it didn't matter, because without warning his nose tickled furiously and he let out a mighty sneeze. He looked up to find three pairs of eyes staring at him. He reluctantly peeled back his tarp just as the Duros pilot came around to the sled.

"Ew, what in Hapes is _that_ thing?" said the Duros.

The Wookie called Tarnik muscled his way through the group and grabbed Sredniy by his ankle, dragging him up and dangling him over the pallet like a sack of meat. It occurred to Sredniy that that's exactly what he probably looked like to the Wookie, and he began to struggle ferociously.

"Don't eat me! Don't eat me!" he said, speaking in Ewok.

Blessedly, the Wookie called Tarnik began to laugh.

"We seem to have acquired a stowaway," the one called Jimi said, walking up and pulling on one of Sredniy's ears. Sredniy growled and batted at the tall-crown, trying to shake himself free. They were distracted, though, by the sound of a jingling bell and a Jawa stepped out into the street.

"LATE!" he roared in basic, his tiny voice indignant. "I will not stand for lateness!"

"Aw shut your slug-hole, Rax, no one cares," said the Duros whose name Sredniy had yet to learn. Tarnik finally put Sredniy down, setting him on top of a crate with a growl that the Ewok knew meant "don't move."

"I'm counting these boxes!" said the Jawa, continuing his tirade. "Mama Ocha's swindled me enough times!"

Tarnik bellowed at the Jawa but the little thing planted his gloved fists on his hips and barked right back.

"Hush you big rug! I paid for this much," here he produced a datapad and waved it in the air. "I'm counting. And it BETTER all be here!"

Tarnik backed off, wuffling through his nose in irritation as Rax began to count.

"I don't want to hear it!" the angry little man hopped up on the sled and counted quickly. He touched each box and canister from one end of the gravity sled to the other, then touched them all again on the way back.

"ONE MISSING!" he roared. "You _swindlers_! I'll have the Marshall on you for this! You've cheated me for the last time!"


	2. Chapter 2

Katya O'nai patted the sled with a _clunk_ , sending the new hires off into the city on their little quest. They'd be in good hands with Lai Keeg and Tarnik. She'd get to know them a little later, vet them a little. There was only one other Cerean on the compound that she knew of and she hadn't seen another Bothan outside of her father since finishing school on Chandrilla, much less a male one. Curious, she flipped to their intake forms in her datapad. Jimi and Ros'cha: from Coruscant, she was surprised to note. True strangers, well out of their league here in the Outer Rim. They'd signed on as muscle; that was interesting. They weren't large or intimidating, and from a planet of soft political types. What was their angle? She read a little further. Assassins, maybe?

She glanced toward the hangar door but they were gone already. Turning back to her datapad, Katya flipped through order sheets, making marks and checking boxes for the orders. Check and recheck, check and recheck. She sauntered around the shipping yard, observing other pallets being assembled and disassembled by crewmen. Mama Ocha's operation made a little money from "junk resale" but Katya suspected it was a front. If it wasn't, probably most of the product was just a little bit illegal. Katya made it her business not to know. A thriving businesswoman on a shady planet like Ord Mantell? Shipping space junk? She'd seen false front operations like this a thousand times on Bothawui, designed to look busy and thriving to account for high revenues but really more of a show than a real income stream. Katya wasn't sure what the shipyard was a front _for_ , though. Possibly Ryll or glitterstim hustling, possibly Mama Ocha was a madam. Katya smirked as she pondered the implications. If the latter, Katya wasn't sure if she should take her post as shipyard manager as a compliment or an insult. However, she _was_ grateful she wasn't working her way up from the _literal_ bottom of the ladder.

She sent a few more shipments off and directed a few returning sleds back towards the loading bay. Pretty smooth day so far. Rounding a corner, however, she barked as she tripped over something. A mismatched pile of scrap was scattered across the aisle, and the lid of a crate. She looked around – nothing else seemed to be out of place. Turning the lid over revealed a stamp. She checked the number on the datapad. _Dammit_. The shipment had already gone out. It was the newbies' and it was going to Rax Cor. _Double dammit_. Arsewipe Jawa would check the shipment immediately and raise hell if it wasn't all there, sniveling skinflint. She wished she could ignore the oversight but she couldn't have him taking his business to Ordo Chubarri. Mama would have a fit and Katya's head would be on the chopping block. Things hadn't been going well between the two main compounds in the suburban township of Cog Hive 7. She'd have to take it over herself, apologize, and possibly eat the cost of the crate. She'd have to see.

Katya snapped her datapad closed and shoved it in her pocket, pulling another crate over and tossing the scrap items in. She threw the crate on a hoverjack and pushed it towards the door of the hangar, pausing to take her white leather pack off a hook and sling it on. Spotting Sanja, the Rodian assistant manager, Katya whistled and tossed the datapad to her.

"What's this?" said Sanja in basic.

"Take over for a while, will ya? I'll be back."

"Where are you going?"

Katya gestured at the crate.

"Missed one."

Sanja hissed sympathetically.

"See you in a bit, boss."

"Don't call me that."

"Sure, boss."

Katya stuck her tongue out and squinted as she stepped out the door and into the bright Ord Mantell midafternoon. She flagged down a speeder and threw the crate into it.

"Where to?" said the droid driver.

"Rax's Patches and Parts."

"Four credits, please."

Katya swiped her stick and as they sped off she checked the balance. Payday. Daddy's money always came in handy. She had to say it went a lot farther on Ord Mantell than on Chandrilla. You wanted a Blumfruit cooler here you didn't have to pay out the nose. High quality booze came cheap on the Outer Rim...as long as you were smart enough not to get roped into fake stuff.

They zipped through the streets of CH-7, a warm breeze blowing through Katya's fur. The weather had been just perfect for the last few days, and she hoped it would hold until her next day off. She had plans to pop over to the capital city of Worlport, make some friends and enjoy good weather exactly as it should be enjoyed: drunk. The pale pinkish sandstone buildings whizzed by, dotted by the occasional stubby bush or tree. Balconies of above-store apartments bore occasional bursts of color from carefully-tended flowers or rugs hung out to air. Windows and doors everywhere stood open, letting in the dry breeze after a long rainy season in the shadow of the Worl Mountains. The drive wasn't long, and after a moment Katya got out of the speeder, lifted the crate, and walked around the corner toward Rax's.

There was the sled, that was good, but what was that Ewok doing sitting on top of one of the taller crates? She didn't have long to think about him, because there was Rax, hopping around and shouting angrily at Lai Keeg, who appeared to be just as pissed. The two newbies were leaning against the sled, watching, and Tarnik appeared to be trying to reason loudly with Rax. Katya put on a charming smile and lilted over as best she could while carrying the heavy crate.

"Hello, Rax," she said, walking up behind the livid, brown-cloaked creature. He whirled and puffed, ready to unleash his wrath - that is until he saw the crate in her arms.

"Looking for this?" she said sweetly. As she nodded down at the crate she was awkwardly carrying the new Bothan guy took it from her and set it down on the sled.

Katya didn't need to speak Jawa to understand that the chatter Rax unleashed on her was a stream of miniature curses.

"It was a simple misunderstanding, Rax. Something happened with one of the crates. And I wonder," she said, turning to the sheepish-looking Ewok, "if it had something to do with this."

Sredniy looked at her from under his brows. Her eyes were a pale green, peering at him not without kindness, a little curiosity, and amusement. He began to relax.

Katya turned back to the Jawa.

"I'll refund you on that one. It was our mistake."

"You refund me on _two_! Your guys were late and my time is valuable!"

Katya could feel her fur bristle but as she opened her mouth to reply the Cerean cut in.

"Nonsense, one will be fine."

The little orange eyes blinked once and Rax relaxed visibly.

"Ah yes, Miss Katya, one will be fine."

Katya closed her mouth as understanding sunk in. So they were Jedi. Made perfect sense. Muscle sans actual _muscle_ , the connection to the Core. Letting the smooth-skinned Cerean's deception go carefully unacknowledged, she took the shipment datapad from Lai Keeg and made an adjustment. Handing it back to him, she motioned to Tarnik to help the Duros with the unloading. Jimi and Ros'cha followed suit and Rax followed them in, barking orders on where to put things. Katya turned her attention to the Ewok, helping him down from the tall crate as Tarnik grabbed it off the sled.

"Now then," she said brusquely. "Did Ordo send you?"

Sredniy shook his head fervently and Katya narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why should I believe you?" she asked.

Sredniy withdrew the holoprojector from where he had it tightly secured under his arm. He pressed down on the center of it and the wavering image of Katya appeared.

" _Mama Ocha has a new initiative and we will need all hands._ "

She stared at it. A studied Bothan mask protected her features but inwardly she was agape. This was why they were careful about their communications. In thickly accented basic the Ewok spoke to her.

"Ma-ma," he said. "Fa-mi-ly."

This too, caught her by surprise, but she began to relax. He likely meant no harm. She chuckled.

"Family? You hear about Mama and you think it means family?"

He nodded enthusiastically. Katya frowned, mystified. Strangely enough the little guy wasn't exactly wrong, no matter how he had drawn the conclusion. Goodness knew the old Weekway had taken _her_ in kindly enough.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Sred-nee."

She cocked her head at him. He tapped the holoprojector.

"Sred-nee. It come, fly, go WHOOSH! I take."

He tapped the holoprojector again. Who had she sent that to? She bit her lip in thought.

"OH!" she said, loud enough to startle the little Ewok man. He clutched at the side of the sled, still clinging to the holoprojector as Katya started to laugh. "The _Severed Knee_. You met the crew of the _Severed Knee_."

That same earnest nod.

"Sredniy!" he repeated.

Katya laughed and shook her head.

"Okay guy, you got me, Sredniy it is."

He clapped, making little grunts of victory as the others came back out of Rax's.

"That's the last of it," called Lai Keeg, throwing a leg over the tow speeder. "Hop on, everyone, let's head back."


End file.
